Dairy

The breakdown of urea by a process known as hydrolysis leads to production of ammonia (NH3, a gas) or ammonium (NH4+), a plant nutrient. When urea is topdressed, any NH3 that is produced can be blown away from the site and this leads to poor use of applied nitrogen (N). One way of minimising the risk of NH3 loss is to apply a urease inhibitor with your urea.

Around this time of the year, graziers need to assess their available dry matter reserves, including the quality and quantity of pasture and hay in the shed, then consider how much feed is going to be required.

Exceptional rainfall has fallen across NSW, northern Victoria and Gippsland over the last couple of weeks. While this has caused extensive flooding in some areas, it has also provided conditions for one of the best pasture seed strikes seen for many years.

Flooding has caused significant damage to pastures in south-eastern Australia this summer and flood damage will need to be assessed on a paddock-by-paddock basis to determine the best recovery strategy.